Defining Love
by RedMageXII
Summary: A series of Rei/Minako one-shots.
1. Deluge

Hi there and welcome to my series of Rei/Minako one-shots. I use word prompts as my inspiration and these will serve as the chapter titles. Hope you like them. Any and all feedback appreciated, and if you want to make any word prompt suggestions for future chapters feel free to let me know!

Also, I don't own Sailor Moon, Rei or Minako.

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Deluge

_A severe flood; a heavy downpour._

The rain was relentless. Minako had fled without so much as a jacket and now she was drenched from head to toe. Slick blonde locks hung dark and heavy around her face, already conspiring to knot themselves together.

Rei shook beads of water from her umbrella and cocked it back up, the metal cold against her collarbone. The resort was quiet, every other tourist having retreated indoors, and Rei would have enjoyed the peace if not for Minako's behaviour. She had been quiet all morning. Then, when Rei had struck up a conversation with a male acquaintance at lunch, she had abruptly gotten up and stalked off for no discernible reason. Rei had pursued her.

A volleyball net stood abandoned on the beach. With a sluggish arm the blonde served a sopping leather ball. It hit the net with a wet _thuck_ and fell lacklustre to the ground, half burying itself in the sand under its own weight. Minako had yet to notice her and sighed in bitter frustration, pushing her bangs back from her face with a sweep of her hand.

She tilted her head up to the sky; reddened eyes searched the cloud cover. Rei wondered, not for the first time, what she had done.

"You'll catch a cold," she said softly. The statement wasn't news by any stretch, but it caught Minako's attention. Minako stiffened, glowering across the sand at her.

"So what?"

"So, I don't want you to get sick."

"Why shouldn't I?"

So much for the gentle approach. Rei glared back, mentally rearming. "Pardon me for caring. I'm trying to be nice!"

"Well, you're being nice to way too many people these days," Minako muttered.

"The hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Ask Yamato. Or Goro. Or Ken."

Rei was so enraged she nearly sputtered. "I dance with one or two guys at a bar and that makes me a slut?"

"Yamato took you home!"

"He walked me up to my room! He was being a gentleman! Unlike the human garbage you open your legs for."

Rei watched Minako visibly recoil at her wording. A flush of anger – or something which at least passed for it - travelled up her neck at having said it, heart hammering acid around her veins. Minako toed the sand, an emotion not unlike shame flashing across her face.

"That's different."

"How is it different?" Rei snapped.

Minako said nothing. For a few moments Rei listened to the rain pound down around her ears. It sounded as if the world was ending. She wondered if she could be persuaded to call a ceasefire with Minako even if it was, or if this conversation would somehow take precedence over the sky falling in.

Minako spoke, quiet and shaky. "Did you sleep with him?"

Rei swallowed hard. She had not slept with Yamato. The very assumption was utterly preposterous, and the slightest suggestion that anyone would doubt her should have sent Rei's temper up like a rocket. But it didn't, because it was how Minako asked it.

Rei really looked at her. Her eyes sported the bags of someone up all night pacing. Blue irises were manic with insecurity, bubbling over with fear. Minako knew better than to even entertain that Rei would do anything like that, which meant she had asked that stupid question beyond all sense of reason. It had driven some part of her, some part beyond friendly concern and beyond common sense, completely crazy, and Minako was now stood before her, wan and shivering, cold and wet, absolutely petrified of Rei's answer.

Rei's eyes softened. She looked squarely at Minako. In her gaze, she tried to project every ounce of integrity she could muster. "No."

Minako exhaled anxiety. So much tension left her shoulders she appeared to almost deflate.

The rain kept falling. Rei's sandals were sinking. She forced a smile.

"Do you like Yamato?" she asked gently. "Is that why it's different?"

Minako's sigh was lost in the rainfall. She shook her head. "It's different because... because I'm in love with someone I shouldn't be. So I go around kissing frogs, hoping just one of them will turn into a prince and make me forget."

She met Rei's gaze again and at once Rei knew it was true. That it was real. She knew Minako loved her because she loved Minako the same way. It was the kind of love that hides, even from yourself, but spills from your subconscious as too-long hugs and heart lurches and the tingle of accidentally touching hands. Love you chastised yourself for, put down to hormones and too much thinking, or dismissed as a fluke, the cling of a particular outfit or the allure of a particular perfume. A love you wrote off as a million other things – compassion and admiration and the heat of a moment – but which never disappeared no matter how much you wished you could stop it.

Rei smiled at Minako, bittersweetly and from the bottom of her heart.

"Has it worked yet?" she asked.

Minako's eyes welled up. Rei had never seen Minako cry; now her tears rolled freely, racing raindrops down her face. "No," Minako said, smiling back sadly. "It never works."

The umbrella hit the sand and Rei was upon her, gripping her fiercely as Minako fell to her knees. The scratchy wet sand soaked Rei's shins, caked itself to her skin. She braced them both against the wracking of Minako's sobs, heard her hiccough and gasp for air as if Rei had saved her from drowning.

Rei held her until her extremities ran cold. She couldn't feel her hands. All that existed was the warmth of Minako's neck, the softness of her body and the steady rise and fall of her chest.

"Minako," she murmured.

"Mm?"

"I think we should stop fighting it."

Minako gripped her waist tighter. "So do I."


	2. Hirsute

Second one's up, with an added smidgen of Ami/Mako for fun. Thanks for the reviews, guys!

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Hirsute

_Hairy._

Jupiter arrived in time to see a trash can sail through the air and collide with Sailor Mercury. With a cry of pain the team's tactician was floored, the unwieldy projectile clattering noisily against the pavement before rolling to a stop.

"Mercury!" Jupiter yelled. She sprinted towards her, but to her surprise Mercury staggered back to her feet, holding up a hand to stop her.

"It's alright, Jupiter. She isn't interested in me."

"She?" questioned Uranus, following behind. Haruka had been sparring with her when Makoto's communicator had gone off, so she had driven Makoto downtown and tagged along for the battle. Jupiter hoped she hadn't wounded Uranus's pride by beating her to the battlefield: Uranus was indisputably the fastest senshi, but show Jupiter an injured Mercury and she moved like a bullet.

Presently Jupiter wrapped an arm around Mercury, supporting the bulk of her weight, and glowered angrily over at the youma.

It looked like a humanoid version of a cat, sporting a white sailor fuku. Its fur was short and sandy and it looked to be more or less Ami's height. Two large pointed ears stood from its head and a long tail swished impatiently. It stalked around a small wooded area of the park, sniffing the air. Mercury, as usual, was right: the thing was paying them very little mind at all.

"What is it?" Jupiter asked, noting the sailor suit. "A phage?"

Mercury shook her head. "Something new. Whoever our enemy is, it seems they produce youma by combining the DNA of two species. It's basically a chimera."

"Are either of those species shockproof?" asked Jupiter darkly. She was watching the large welt start to form on Mercury's cheek and plotting a healthy dose of revenge.

Uranus smirked at her, little sparks of yellow energy gathering in her fingertips. "Let's find out. World..."

"No, don't!" Mercury cried. "That's precisely the problem! The chimera – it's half Artemis, half Minako-chan."

Makoto's jaw almost hit the floor. "That's Minako-chan?!"

To be fair, its fur did look a similar colour to Minako's hair, and it certainly explained the fuku.

The energy evaporated from Uranus's hand. "Then what the hell are we supposed to do with it?"

Mercury summoned her mini-computer with her free hand, checking her readings. "Sailor Moon will have to heal them when she gets here. Until then, damage control is our only option. It shouldn't be too difficult; like I said, it isn't really bothered by us. The only reason it attacked me was because got between it and Luna to scan it."

"Luna?" Jupiter murmured. She and Uranus shared a glance and turned back to Mina-Artemis. The chimera flicked its gaze left and right, its ears swivelling attentively, apparently trying to locate something in the trees. "Is that who she's looking for?"

Mercury nodded. "Yes. From what I can tell, the youma is responding to a pheromone signature. In other words," she concluded with a slight blush, "it's chasing Luna because Artemis is attracted to Luna."

"Poor Luna," Uranus remarked.

Mercury smiled sheepishly in spite of herself. "I'm sure Luna won't thank me for making her live bait, but she's the only thing keeping them out of trouble."

Jupiter laughed, scratching the back of her neck awkwardly. "Well, at least it doesn't have Minako-chan's senshi powers."

No sooner had the words left her mouth than Mina-Artemis's gaze fixed on one branch in particular, apparently having located their beloved guardian. Effortlessly, it slung out a Love-Me Chain. It wrapped the weapon around Luna's middle like a lasso and she was dragged down the trunk of the tree, flailing her hind legs in protest and carving a set of claw marks in her wake.

"Spoke too soon, I guess," said Jupiter.

Minako-Venus-Artemis reeled Luna the rest of the way in like a fish, clamped her into its arms and started happily licking her behind the ears. Luna scrambled to escape, but the chimera's grip was rock solid.

The senshi regarded the scene in open dismay.

"Mercury," Jupiter asked slowly, "does saving Luna's sanity qualify as damage control?"

Mercury put her computer away. "She's suffered enough," she said sincerely. Jupiter and Uranus nodded solemnly in agreement, and together they headed towards the pair – or trio, depending on how one looked at it.

Before they could get there, however, a familiar voice cut through the air ahead of them.

"You, who would molest an innocent maiden cat without permission!" cried Sailor Mars, emerging from behind a lamppost. "In the name of Mars, I'll chastise you!"

"Mars!" Mercury called. "Don't attack it! It's Minako-chan!"

Mars's eyes almost popped out of her skull. "It's _what_?"

Mina-Artemis mewled, its gaze resting on Mars. The two stared each other down for a few moments.

Mars's eye twitched. "Guys? Why is she looking at me like that?"

The chimera sniffed Luna. Then she sniffed in Mars's direction. After a few moments' consideration, it released the traumatised feline, turning the full force of its intrigue upon the new arrival. Jupiter watched Luna hit the floor with all the grace of a bag of sugar and stagger off to safety in unco-ordinated zigzags.

Mina-Artemis took a step forward. Mars took one back. Then Mina-Artemis made a strange little growl in the back of its throat, a funny, curious sound to match Minako's playful blue eyes.

"M-...Minako?" Rei asked nervously.

Mina-Artemis's nose twitched. Its tail whipped purposefully back and forth. And then it pounced.

"Minako, no! Minako! Mina, stop it!"

Jupiter, Mercury and Uranus looked on helplessly as Mina-Artemis knocked Mars onto the grass and leapt on top of her. It started nuzzling its head into the crook of Mars's neck, an action Jupiter spontaneously recalled to be scent-marking.

Jupiter felt Mercury move beside her, switching on her visor. "Why is she after Rei? Have I missed something?" she asked herself.

Mercury was so cute when she was confused, and for once Jupiter knew something she didn't. She slipped the arm around Mercury up to one of her blue earrings and gently switched the visor back off. "It's okay, Mercury. You didn't miss anything."

Mercury went beetroot, peering up at Jupiter in realisation. "You mean...?!"

Jupiter grinned but said nothing. Instead she turned her attention back to the scenario she was pretty sure neither Rei nor Minako would ever live down.

Mars was now busy trying to threaten Mina-Artemis with a handful of fire, but this only seemed to make it more interested, cuddling as close to Mars and the heat source as possible.

"No! Bad Mina!" Mars snapped, face ablaze. "Get back! Fire is scary, damnit!"

Suddenly Mina-Artemis sat up. It glanced at the fire and then at Mars, and then did something which sent an already embarrassed Mercury's temperature straight through the roof.

She pinned Mars down, stuck out her tongue and started to lick Mars's jaw line. Mars let out a surprised yelp and flushed darkly as Mina-Artemis emitted a noisy, satisfied purr.

Jupiter cringed and laughed, Mercury squeaked and Uranus burst into a fit of belly laughs.

Unable to do much about the spectacle, they watched as Mars's loud objections declined into begging before finally dissipating into nervous, incomprehensible whimpers. Jupiter couldn't be sure, but she thought she saw her shiver involuntarily.

Uranus's guffaws eventually subsided. She wiped a tear from her eye. "Please let Minako remember this."

Light footsteps sounded behind them and Jupiter felt the tension leave Mercury's shoulders. "Thank goodness," Mercury sighed.

"Sorry I'm late, guys!" called out Sailor Moon between wheezes. She stopped in front of them, hands on her knees as she caught her breath. "There was this other youma, and I had to fight it, and I learned this new attack and..."

Her eyes fell on Mars and the chimera and she shrieked. "What the heck is it doing to Rei-chan?!"

"Just stop it, Sailor Moon..." groaned Mercury wearily, thumb and forefinger now pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Right," Sailor Moon nodded. With that, she took out her eternal tier. "Moon… Unity… Peaceful Restoration!"

A circle of bright lights flew out in the direction of the chimera and, for a few moments, the world went white. When Jupiter was able to stop shielding her eyes, she peered through her fingers to see if it had worked.

Sure enough, they were separated. A few yards away, Artemis lay on the ground, blinking dazedly.

Minako, however, was still on top of Rei, the tip of her tongue now frozen in place on Rei's pulse point. She stayed like that for a few moments, most likely trying to work out the best way to get out of this situation. She pulled away from Mars and sat up, giggling apprehensively.

"Hi, Rei," she said.

Jupiter half-expected Mars to throw a fit. And yet she didn't. She just sat up a little more, cheeks tinged pink, and looked at Minako like she was seeing her for the first time.

_Then_ she threw a fit.


	3. Quirt

Thanks for the reviews! You're all stars!

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Quirt

_A short-handled riding whip with a braided leather lash._

Minako flopped down on Rei's bed. She grinned up at Rei mischievously.

"So, come on, where are you taking me?" She bounced a little on the edge, glancing at the duvet and shooting Rei a flirtatious wink. "Aside from in here, of course?"

Rei's ears turned red but she managed to recover. "I told you, it's a surprise."

"Surprises are never good for a senshi, Rei!" Minako urged. "It's an unknown assailant! What if there's more than one surprise? What if the surprise is stronger than you expected? What if it summons an army of surprises and orders them to surprise the whole world? You should take me to investigate it right now, before it's too late!"

Rei smiled warmly at her girlfriend's melodramatics, bending down to kiss her on the forehead. "Be patient. I'm going to take a shower first."

"Can I help?" Minako joked.

Rei stiffened. "Minako." Her expression was wary, borderline reproachful, and Minako realised immediately she had pushed too hard. She backtracked, waving a hand in dismissal. A gentle smile quirked her lips.

"Right, right. You're perfectly capable of showering yourself."

Rei offered her a grateful smile back, shoulders relaxing once more. "I'll see you in a minute."

Minako's eyes followed her girlfriend as she extracted fresh towels from her dresser. Rei was so easily flustered. Granted, it was very early on in their relationship – they had been dating less than four weeks and had yet to get beyond making out – but Minako knew she had to be especially patient with Rei about the physical side of a relationship. A lifetime of disappointments had cemented Rei's high defences and it had been all Minako could do to ease her distrust in the first place.

Minako was completely willing to respect Rei's feelings. Still, her own libido remained game for action anytime. Longingly she watched Rei undo the second button on her shirt as she vanished into the bathroom.

Minako had all sorts of naughty thoughts about her girlfriend but she'd be damned if she could figure out if Rei had any of her. Mars was supposed to be the planet of sex drive, yet Rei was so unreadable that Minako was inclined to doubt the association.

Occasionally, and very much at random, she saw something – a dark little glimmer that liquefied her knees – but any overt mention of sex and Rei looked visibly uncomfortable. Particularly these days. Ever since they had started dating the air between them had been thick with genuine possibilities; Minako had reined in her flirting considerably to avoid scaring her off.

The shower started running. Minako flipped her hair over her shoulder and turned her attention to occupying herself, trying to shake the thought of Rei's naked body under a cascade of water. She did a once-over of the room. She wasn't in the mood for manga and had already read the small pile of magazines on the bedside table.

Bedside. Bed. Rei's bed.

Naked Rei in Rei's bed.

Minako stood abruptly from the mattress as if someone had poured coffee in her lap. She had to find something to do. Glancing around, she spied Rei's computer on her desk. For all her years of hanging around the shrine Minako realised she had never once been on Rei's computer. Under the circumstances, the idea became wildly appealing.

She bounded over to it and poked the on/off button with her index finger. Sure enough the thing clacked and revved into life and she parked herself in Rei's hard-backed chair. (Why the girl wouldn't get something vaguely comfortable Minako would never know.)

A few minutes later everything was loaded. Minako was flattered and a little touched by the Sailor V background her girlfriend had set. A happy grin spread across her face.

So cute. I'll have to return the favour somehow, she thought.

Minako surveyed the screen, hoping to see some computer games, but Rei's minimalism obviously extended to this thing as well. A bunch of flyers and notices for the shrine littered the desktop. There were schoolwork folders labelled by subject; a folder of Sailor V manga scans sat in the far right-hand corner. That was the extent of it, though. Minako huffed.

"Do you have anything fun on here _at all_?" she called, though she doubted Rei could hear her over the sound of the water running. She blew a raspberry. Clicking into the programs menu, she scanned down the list until a little Sailor V icon caught her eye, blowing a kiss her way. Beside it were the words, 'One More Time, Sailor V!'

Minako was genuinely intrigued. She thought she had played every Sailor V game out there, yet this one didn't seem familiar at all. Excitedly she double-clicked, propping her chin on the heel of her palm as she waited for the thing to load. The screen went navy blue and the title menu appeared in a flash of red and white.

Minako clicked to open Rei's save game and was confronted with three options: _Setting_, _Outfit_ and _Weapon_. Noticing a _Load Favourites_ button, she selected it without really thinking about it and the options changed.

Setting: SHINTO SHRINE  
Outfit: SCHOOL GIRL

Minako laughed. Figures she'd pick those, she thought, though she still couldn't quite put her finger on why these options existed.

Now the only space left blank was the _Weapons_ tab. Minako tilted her head thoughtfully. "Random!" she laughed, selecting said option from the menu. "Surprise me, Sailor V!"

The loading bar danced across the screen for a few moments. When the shrine finally presented itself, the phrase, 'GET IT ON!' flashed in obnoxious bubble writing in the middle of the screen.

"Wait... what?"

Minako watched in bemusement as Sailor V appeared, clad – and that was putting it strongly – in a very revealing fuku. Half the buttons on it were undone and barely covered assets far bigger than Minako's were in real life. Meanwhile, Minako's first-person character brandished a forked whip. Her pixelated, blushing alter-ego whimpered a pitiful, "Onegai, mistress!" at the screen.

Minako went crimson.

"Th... this is..." Minako murmured. And it was. Her girlfriend – the stoic, chaste, prim and proper miko who did _nothing_ but chide her for innuendo – had a Sailor V sex simulator. Minako was shocked and stunned, and embarrassed, and weirdly turned on, and none of these sentiments stopped her from continuing to click in sordid rubbernecking fascination.

A few minutes later, the shower stopped; Rei re-emerged clad in a crisp white towel, using another to dry her hair. "What's been keeping you so quiet?" she asked. Minako could just picture the innocent smile on her face.

"Apparently, the same thing that keeps you quiet," she retorted.

"What?"

Minako didn't explain. She didn't have to. The sound of Sailor V's orgasm blasted through the speakers.

Silence fell. Rei went ashen. The game narrator boomed, "You win!" at the… _victor_.

Minako turned and stared at her, uncharacteristically bashful.

"You... you want to do _that_ to me?"

Rei blushed ferociously. She averted her gaze. "Well, I wouldn't use a whip..." she mumbled.


	4. Cavalier

Thanks for the reviews guys! Please accept this fluff as a reward.

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Cavalier

_A mounted soldier or knight_

They were whispering even as she passed through the school gates. Initially she had thought it wasn't about her; in an all-girl school it wasn't uncommon for rumours to circulate about girls experimenting or becoming lovers.

But not Rei. There had _never_ been rumours about Rei.

Then she had overheard a group of underclassmen, talking about Rei-sempai and the mysterious and beautiful volleyball player, and spent the rest of the day trying desperately to work out how they had been discovered. When.

Not only had she not come up with an answer, she couldn't think of a single moment between them she would have changed anyway.

"Hi Rei."

Minako waved at her, waiting as she always did to walk her home. Then the smile dropped from her face. Her eyes fell on a group of older students as they passed. As she approached, Rei could hear what they were saying.

"I can see what she likes about her," one gushed. "Those pretty lips. And those legs! I think they're suited."

"I don't know," said another. "Rei's like a princess. Don't you think a gallant knight would suit her better?"

Steadily the girls' voices drifted from earshot. Minako's eyes fixed on Rei's, pensive and understanding. It was too hard to figure out whether a serious Minako or a happy Minako was more beautiful. "Are you okay? Do you want me to go?"

Rei smiled. "No," she said softly. "You're worth more to me than all of them."

Minako looked amused. "I see the princess values everyone equally."

"They have to earn my respect first."

"And I have?" Minako asked teasingly.

Rei smirked. "Enough to let them talk."

They walked off towards the shrine, the backs of their hands brushing. Minako linked their pinkies. Rei took her hand.

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There was still talk in the morning. Then, as Rei sat studying in the library, they started talking about something else.

Well. Sort of.

"You should see it. It's in the courtyard. The sisters are beside themselves!"

"A horse? Really?! Who brought it in?"

"See for yourself! He's still there."

"Really?"

"Yeah. And whoever he is, he's dressed as a knight..."

Rei smiled faintly to herself. Finally, someone else's love life was in the spotlight. But what crazy idiot would...

"Excuse me. Rei-sempai?"

Rei went white. Ever so slowly, she turned to look at the underclassman who had spoken.

The underclassman blushed. "A... _person_ has requested your presence in the courtyard."

Perhaps it was her years as a senshi but dread carried Rei quite a distance. Through doors and corridors, Rei eventually found herself outside, staring at someone in silver armour atop a white horse.

"Hino-hime." Minako's was lowering her voice to sound manly. It was, admittedly, rather funny. "I have come to confess my love."

Rei heard some of the girls swoon. Minako dismounted and removed her helmet, shaking her hair loose.

"Like it?" She inspected her outfit. "I got it from the theatre club. They let me borrow some props."

Rei stared at her. She fought to make her mouth work. "And the horse?"

Minako smiled cryptically. It was unnerving. She shrugged loosely.

"I wanted to show your subjects you're still getting a knight."

Rei raised an eyebrow. "I never wanted a knight."

"You didn't want _me_ till I convinced you," Minako said with a wink.

Rei couldn't quite prevent the corners of her mouth from turning upwards. "I'm not a romantic either," she lectured evenly. "I don't need you to prove our love to anyone."

Minako blinked in feigned innocence. "Love?" she asked. She glanced casually around at Rei's classmates. "I thought this was war."

Rei smirked. She took a step closer so they were stood nose to nose. "In that case, perhaps I've judged romance too harshly."

"Hino-san!" The girls broke apart to see Sister Kimiko pushing to the front of the crowd. "What is the meaning of this?"

Rei forced herself to look serious. "I'm sorry about this, Sister Kimiko. I was just explaining to this _individual_ that it would be best for her to leave."

"Traitor," Minako whispered, grinning. With just enough melodrama, she sighed.

"Perhaps I'll find my beloved after school," she announced loudly. Pointedly. "Somewhere with scented candles where we won't be interrupted."

Rei stifled her blush. Minako remounted her steed. Wistfully she added, "Perhaps when I find her she'll be more grateful, too. They do say you should kiss a horsey gift-giver on the mouth."

Then, looking like she'd done it a thousand times before, Minako tapped the horse's sides with her heels and rode away. She looked more than a little pleased with herself.


	5. Augur

Just a short one. Thanks for reviewing!

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Augur

_To divine or predict._

"Again?"

Minako sighed softly to herself and approached the sacred flame. In front of it sat her girlfriend, bolt upright and unresponsive.

Rei couldn't hear her; at least not in the regular sense. Minako knew that much. She was in deep meditation and, according to her grandfather, had been in here for the better part of five hours.

It had been three weeks since Rei had started doing this to herself: holing herself up in this room. It had to be another vision – yet another dark omen to keep her favourite psychic up at night – and it was dragging her away from Minako.

Concerned and frustrated, the leader of the senshi knelt beside her second in command and placed the back of her hand against Rei's forehead. She was extremely clammy. A bead of sweat rolled down her neck, sliding towards her collarbone. Minako wiped it away with her thumb, smiling sadly.

"What am I going to do with you?" she whispered.

She slipped her arms around Rei's waist, hugging her tightly from behind, and planted a kiss against her jaw. She rested her head on Rei's shoulder. That long black mane, frazzled by flames, tickled her cheek.

"What aren't you telling me, Rei?" She closed her eyes. "What's so terrible that you won't talk to me about it?"

Rei didn't answer. She just sat there, a deep frown marring her features, hunting through a future Minako couldn't see.


End file.
